It’s no secret that in the past few months, the amount of earthquakes in California have been at an all time high.
However, not only has the amount of earthquakes been skyrocketing, but so has the concern of people currently living in California.
The first major earthquake of the year had unexpectedly struck San Bernardino on January 5. The earthquake had a 4.2 magnitude and it was centered around two miles southwest of San Bernardino.
The earthquake itself had an estimated depth of around 9.63 miles, and as stated by Earthquake Expert Lucy Jones, “the location of the earthquake was very close to the San Jacinto fault.”
This is only the first earthquake that struck Southern California this year, not accounting for the 100+ more that have happened around the state.
However, there is a reason why there have been so many, a rather scary one at that.
There is a fault underneath California, running between Los Angeles and Orange County, two highly populated areas.
This fault line is likely the cause of there being several 2.5 magnitude earthquakes weekly across the state.
The fault is called the “Puente Hills thrust fault”, and experts believe it to be more dangerous than the San Andreas fault.
Experts say that if a fault rupture, or a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit, it could potentially kill from 3,000 to 18,000 people.
Not only that, but the damage it could cause would be catastrophic as well, destroying over 700,000 households, and generating over 10,000 tons of debris.
As Seismologist Jones stated, “This is actually our most dangerous fault.” She had also stated that earthquakes on the San Andreas fault would cause less damage and casualties than if it happened on the Puente Hills thrust fault.
The Puente Hills thrust fault caused a 5.9 earthquake in 1987 that killed eight people and cost around 358 million dollars in property damage.
There were also two earthquakes in early June connected to the Puente Hills thrust fault. The first of these earthquakes occurred on June 2, and was an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.4.
The second earthquake occurred on June 4, and had a magnitude of 2.8.
These are just a few of the devastating ones that have taken place, not to mention the many more to come.
Speaking of many more to come, some experts say that there could be a 8.0 level earthquake in the near future on the Puente Hills thrust fault. Though that is just speculation, if something like that were to happen, there is no telling what kind of casualties it would lead to.
But in conclusion, the Puente Hills thrust fault is a dangerous and very destructive fault that has been the cause of the majority of these earthquakes.
Scientists say that earthquake predictions are very difficult, so instead, scientists will begin to look at the realm of long term possibility, and to prepare for when a major earthquake arrives.